Friendly Faces
by Dally's Stalker
Summary: Gabby Milo is a very shy girl who has never really had a friend. Can that be changed by the one and only Sirius Black?
1. Chapter 1

1**Friendly Faces**

**AN: This story has been in my head for the longest time, and I finally have a chance to write it down for all of FanFiction to read! Woo-hoo!**

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OC.**

I sat there in an empty corner of the common room, my only company being the Potions essay I had to write.

I looked down at my parchment. I only had one sentence written down so far. I took a deep breath and read the sentence over again.

_There are many different types of healing potions..._

I stared at the words, my mind blank. I could not for the life of me focus on the essay.

How could I when I was so utterly distracted?

I looked back up and my eyes instantly found the raven-haired boy who was sitting by the fireplace, playing a game of Exploding Snaps with his best mate while a small boy watched eagerly.

He laughed to no end when his friend's eyebrows got singed.

I couldn't help but to sigh as he threw back his head in laughter and slapped his lap.

He didn't seem so bad at times like this, he actually seemed like a nice, fun person.

It was when there was a group of people to impress that made him seem bad.

I wondered how someone so beautiful could be such a show off, such a... well, a complete and utter flirt.

I wondered what it would be like to be friends with him. Actually, I wondered what it would be like to be friends with anybody.

This was my sixth year at Hogwarts, and so far I had made it through without a single friend. It isn't as if I'm a terrible person or anything. I'm just not what you would call outgoing.

I'm shy. Very shy. When people do talk to me, I'm quiet and curt with my answers. Don't get my wrong, I do want to have friends. I just don't know how to make any.

Suddenly, I saw the small boy look at me and them say something to the other boys. They all looked at me, even the boy who had been lounging in a chair and reading a book poked his head out and looked at me.

I had been staring. I had stared at him for too long.

I quickly looked down at my paper, my face the color of a tomato, no doubt.

_Focus, Focus._

_There are many different types of healing potions. One of the most common being..._

"Hello."

I jumped at the voice. It was him. He was standing right in front of me.

I slowly lifted up my head to look at him in the face. As soon as I did, I blushed even more.

He was so beautiful, and he's looking right at me.

"I don't believe I know you," he said slyly.

"Gabby Milo," I said quickly.

He grinned. I thought I would faint right there and then.

"I'm Sirius Black, sixth year. What year are you in, Gabby?"

He said my _name_, he said _my_ name, he said _my name_.

He was the only person other than my family to call me Gabby instead of Gabriel.

"Same as you," I said with a bit of difficulty.

My heart was pounding like a drum in a parade, fast and hard.

I was almost certain that he could here it too.

"Oh, really? How is it that I haven't met you before?"

That grin again.

He was stunning, absolutely stunning.

"Uh, well, I'm pretty quiet."

I sound stupid. I sound really, really stupid.

I looked behind Sirius and saw that all of his friends were peeing over at us, wondering what was happening.

What am I doing anyway?

I'm talking to Sirius Black! He probably wants to make fun of me, give him and his friends a good laugh.

Plus, he's a womanizer! He just wants to get girls to hop in bed with him!

Wait a tick!

Is he trying to get _ME_ in bed with him?!

I quickly stood up, knocking my inkwell over.

The black ink quickly spread all over the table and all over my pathetic excuse for a Potions essay.

"Oh, Bugger!" I said, using my shirt of all things to try to wipe up the mess.

"Here, let me," Sirius said.

He took his wand out from his pocket and used a charm.

All signs of the spilt ink on the desk and my parchment had disappeared.

I turned even more red than I had been before. Was I that daft that I had forgotten about using magic?

I looked down to see a huge black stain at the hem of my crisp white school shirt.

Sirius moved his hands toward me. I backed up. He moved closer again, I backed up and then bolted up to my dormitory.

As I ran up the stairs, I heard Sirius say to his friends, "I was only trying to help."

Once I got up to my dormitory, I immediately flopped on my bed and stuffed my face in my pillow.

I felt more humiliated and embarrassed than I had ever felt in my whole life.

Words couldn't describe how I felt.

How could I have been so stupid?

He was only helping me out.

He was only being friendly.

What if he had wanted to be friends with me?

I groaned into my pillow.

I had blown it. Now I would never have a friend.

After minutes and minutes of mentally beating myself up and after letting a few tears slip away, I heard someone clear their throat.

I looked up to see Lily Evans, who I shared a dormitory with.

I quickly rubbed my eyes and patted down my hair, which was now undeniably messy.

"Hi, Gabby. Sirius Black said that you left this down in the common room. He asked me to bring it up to you."

She called me Gabby. I was surprised. I hadn't ever really gotten to know her. I thought that she might have forgotten what my name was.

I looked down at her hands to see that she was holding my parchment and quill and inkwell.

"Thank you," I said absent-mindedly.

I had really been a complete prat to Sirius, yet he was still trying to be nice to me.

"Erm... Are you alright?" Lily asked.

I popped out of my trance and looked back up to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Sirius said that you seemed a bit jumpy. He wasn't sure if you were alright."

I paled. He thought that I was weird.

"I just... Nothing. I was just acting stupid."

"Oh, alright. Well, I think I'll go back down to the common room. If you want to talk or anything, you know where to find me."

Lily turned and closed the door as she left.

I sat there on my bed in shock.

She had been so kind to me. So caring.

No one had ever said anything like that to me before.

Why hadn't I ever tried to talk to Lily?

Once again, I was beating myself up.

If only I weren't so shy, maybe I would have a friend.

I stood and walked over to the mirror.

I scanned over my shoulder-length, wavy, dark brown hair; my round nose that I hated; my chubby cheeks; my pale skin; the three small pimples along my jaw line; my plump, pink lips that I frequently bit; and my eyes.

The only thing that I liked about my appearance was my eyes.

They were big and green.

They showed how scared a was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Friendly Faces**

**AN: Alrighty, second chapter's up. Yippee.**

**Oh, and I was reading over the first chapter, and I found the best typo ever:**

'_all of his friends were __**peeing**__ over at us'_

**LMAO! Hahaha, well since I'm too lazy to go back and fix it to peeking, it'll stay. Lol**

**And now the story...**

Today was Saturday, and I planned on sitting in bed, writing my Potions essay that I hadn't finished the night before.

And when I finished said Potions essay, I planned on staying in bed, hiding from the world.

Or at least Sirius Black.

I was still so embarrassed about the way that I had acted.

How could I have such a thick skull?

I lost my only chance of having a friend for thinking that he wanted to shag me.

Honestly, why would Sirius Black want to shag _me_?

I'm no sight for sore eyes. Actually, I'm probably more of an _eyesore_.

I'm not a thin little thing like the girls he is usually with. I'm a bit pudgy. I'm really paranoid about my weight and what everyone must think.

Once in a while, I'll see someone looking over at me, and I'll think right away that they're probably thinking about how fat I am.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not considered obese, according to my doctor, but in my eyes I am.

Really, there is something wrong with me.

I have problems talking to people, I can't open up, I don't think much of myself at all . . .

You can see why I don't have any friends.

I'm impossible. I really am.

And I really wish I could change that.

It was nearly lunch time, and my stomach was yelling at me to feed it.

I put my completed Potions essay on the side and slid out of bed.

After getting dressed and brushing my hair and whatnot, I slowly went down the stairs, peering around to see if Sirius or his friends were around.

When I realized they weren't around, I sighed in relief and walked across the common room and through the portrait hole.

It must have been a Hogsmeade weekend. It didn't really bother me that I had missed it, although I did enjoy all of the shops and everything.

I ate a sandwich quickly, I wanted to eat before too many Gryffindors came to the table.

Or at least before _he_ did.

Once I was finished, I went back up to my dormitory and got a cloak out of my trunk.

As soon as I stepped outside and felt the cold wind in my face I smiled brightly to myself.

I loved this time of year, when fall was slowly fading into winter.

I quickly stepped down the stairs and walked down the worn path, a little bounce to my step as I did so.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, loving the smell of the world around me.

I felt a tug on my cloak, and I was utterly surprised when my eyes fell upon the black dog looking up at me with the hem of my cloak in his mouth.

I scanned my eyes around me, looking for an owner.

What was a dog doing at Hogwarts?

The dog tugged on my cloak again, so I patted his head a bit. He let go of my cloak and wagged his tail.

I couldn't help but laugh. This dog was the cutest thing I had seem, and all he wanted was someone to play with.

A friend.

I smiled down at him and noticed that he didn't have a collar.

"You don't have an owner, do you?" I said, kneeling down.

As soon as I did, the dog jumped up, putting his front paws on my shoulders.

This caused me to loose my balance and fall on my back, the very friendly dog laying on my stomach and licking my cheek. I started giggling and squirming while I tried to push his face away from me.

The dog got off my stomach on sat beside me. I sat right up, laughing.

"You have to be the wackiest dog I know."

When I said this, the dog seemed to _grin_!

I laughed even more, petting the dog.

Then, I actually started to _talk_ to the dog!

Can you believe it?

I have problems talking to people, but I can spill my guts to a _dog_!

It was as if he could actually understand me. It seemed as though he was listening to every word I was saying, his eyes staying on me the whole time.

Before I knew it, a lot of people were coming up the hill and toward the castle, they were back from Hogsmeade.

I stood up and bushed the leaves off of my legs.

"I guess I should go now," I told the dog.

He _must_ have understood what I had said, for he turned and ran down the hill, going back to where ever he had come.

I turned and walked back up the path and up the stairs.

I took one last breath of the fresh air before heading inside the warm castle.


	3. Chapter 3

**Friendly Faces**

**AN: Ah, finally, an update. It has been too long. If you look at my profile, at my list of stories and my updates on them, you will see that I am setting a goal to complete all of my unfinished stories by this September.**

**Disclaimer: You already know the deal.**

**Chapter 3**

I was making my way up the stairs, heading back to the Gryffindor common room, when something unusual occurred.

"Gabby! Aye, Gabby!" called a voice from behind me.

I jumped up, and my heart started pounding. Who in Merlin's name was yelling for _me _of all people?

I was already blushing wickedly when I slowly turned to face my pursuer.

When I realized that it was Sirius Black who was running up the stairs toward me, shouting my name, I completely froze. My heart stopped beating. I was terribly embarrassed and nervous.

He finally reached me. He bent over, panting and trying to catch his breath. He had just ran up three flights of stairs.

Three flights of stairs.

Ran up them.

For me.

Sirius Black ran all the way up three flights of stairs just for me.

Butterflies were fluttering wildly in my stomach.

I believe I was shaking, that's how nervous I was that he was confronting me.

Finally, when he had caught enough breath, he stood up straight and smiled at me.

I blushed even deeper, though I hadn't believed it to be possible.

"'Ello, Gabby," Sirius Black said cheerfully, still smiling brightly. He seemed so pleased with himself.

"H-Hi.." I said quietly, keeping my eyes on the floor.

"How are you on this fine Saturday?"

"Fine, thank you," I said even more quietly, still refusing to look up.

I didn't want to look him in the eye. I was too nervous.

"Gabby?" he said, bending down so that he could catch my eye.

My cheeks were on fire.

"Are you alright, Gabby? You don't seem like you really want to–"

Before he could finish, I quickly turned around and headed off.

"Gabby, hold on just a tick," Sirius tried, but I didn't stop.

"I can't," I said, so softly that I doubt he even heard it. I barely heard it myself.

Once I got up to my dormitory, I shut the door and leaned my back against the door, gradually sliding down to the floor. I was so very embarrassed that I began to cry and sob softly.

How could I have acted the way that I did?

How could I have run away from Sirius Black yet again?

He was only trying to talk to me. He was only being friendly.

But for some reason, I couldn't let him be. I couldn't let Sirius Black become my friend.

What in the bloody world is wrong with me?

I have to be the most messed up person in the world.

I have no social skills. I have no friends. I am unable of even making small talk with a person, for Merlin's sake!

They ought to go ahead and throw me in the looney bin already. That's where I belong.

I can't talk to people, not at all. I sometimes even have a difficult time talking to my own parents.

I don't understand why I'm so shy. I don't know how I ever managed to become this way.

I don't understand why I am the way that I am.

Monday morning I sat in my Potions class. I always sat in the back of the dark room, where no one would bother to look back at me. I sat alone, as per usual. I never socialized in class, and I thank the Holy Lord that none of my professors ever called on my for an answer, or to read a section of our text.

The professors might have sensed that I did not want to participate. Maybe they thought there was something wrong with me.. Well, they weren't wrong if that's what they really did believe.

None of my classmates ever really paid me any attention, and I was thankful for that as well. I was just unable to interact with others. I was just too nervous and shy a person to talk with my classmates.

As I sat in the back of the classroom, keeping to myself and listening to the professor lecture, I happened to glance up in time to notice one of Sirius Black's mates looking back at me. I wasn't sure what his name was, but he was the one that was always observing the action. He was the one who always seemed content sitting back and reading a book. The boy looked away, and then started saying something in private to James Potter, who sat next to him.

I wondered if he had said something about me, or if it was only my paranoia striking up once again.

Before I had a chance to let my thoughts wander any further, the bell sounded, interrupting my paranoid thoughts and wiping them away completely.


	4. Chapter 4

**Friendly Faces**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than my OC.**

**CHAPTER 4**

The Great Hall always made me feel very uncomfortable. So many people all around me, talking loudly with one another while chomping away on the grand and extravagant meals that were served to us three times a day.

Who am I joking? Being in any room in Hogwarts always made me feel uncomfortable, for the school was packed with tons of young wizards and witches. I was definitely not used to being in a place with so many people. Even being in my 6th year here at this magical school, my nerves were still constantly at end. I was still not used to being surrounded by so many people.

You see, back home it was never like this. I live in one of those small villages that isn't even listed on most maps. Very low population. Chances are most people wouldn't even know what I was talking about if I told them where I live. That's how isolated my hometown is. I live in a tiny, beat up cottage with my parents. I'm their only child. I never got to know any of my neighbors, considering they live five miles away in either direction.

The school that I attended before Hogwarts consisted of 60 kids. That wasn't just for my year, but the entire school. 60 kids in the whole entire school. That's all. There were only six other kids in my year when I went to that little school.

I guess you could say that even then, I was isolated from my peers. You see, when you're such a small classroom, with just six other kids, nothing goes unnoticed. When you are able to do weird things that other kids can't do, it scares them. It makes you that creepy girl that no one wants to sit by or talk to. These kids, they are normal and they are scared of you because you are anything but normal. They tattle on you to the teacher for making your pencil float a few inches above your desk. They try relentlessly to hit you with the balls during recess, and they can't figure out how all the balls seem to miss you every time.

Being the only magical child in a small town is probably what started my socialization problems. Yes, I think that it is safe to say that all my problems started then. I had no friends in my town. They all made fun of me and avoided me.

I was the oddball.

The outcast.

I had never told my parents about the things I could do. I hid it from them. I didn't want them to be afraid of me as well. I never told them that I could make things move without touching the objects with any part of my body.

That is why they were very shocked when the letter came from Hogwarts.

That is when I found out the truth about everything.

You see, my parents, Emma and Richard Milo, were indeed very familiar with Hogwarts. They themselves had attended many years ago. After they graduated, they moved out here to this little cottage in this quiet town in the middle of nowhere. They never used magic again after that. They had seen a lot of people become corrupted by the power of magic. They did not want to be a part of that world any longer.

My parents had hoped that I would be spared and never know of the magical world. They hoped that it would skip me. My parents were both what most would call Mudbloods. They had been born to families that had never known magic before. But somehow, they obtained this ability. This magical ability.

My parents had never noticed me showing any signs of having magical powers. They assumed that the magic just skipped over me.

So, when that Hogwarts letter arrived by owl, my parents couldn't believe it. They thought that there was some sort of mistake. How could it be?

That's when they confronted me.

"Gabby, sweetie, can you come in the kitchen for a minute. Your father and I want to talk to you," my mother had told me when she knocked on my door.

I had walked into the kitchen, my parents sat on one side of the small wooden table, and I took a seat on the side opposite. I noticed how my father was clutching a thick piece of paper in his right hand. In the other hand was an envelope with some sort of weird seal hanging on the flap.

"Gab, sweetheart, have you noticed anything strange that you can do?" My father asked.

My mother had shot him this warning look. "What your father means is have you noticed that you can do things that the other kids can't do?"

I looked at them watching me closely. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know if I was going to be in trouble. I decided that I should answer truthfully.

"Y-Yes."

Their eyes grew wide, and they had turned to each other in disbelief.

"What kind of things?" My father asked after another minute.

"I can lift things up, but without my hands."

"Can you show us, Gabby?" My mother asked, leaning closer.

I then focused on the banana on the counter. I levitated it a few inches in midair. My parents followed my eyes to the banana, and once they saw it floating, they both jumped up. My mom gasped.

And that was when they finally told me the truth about them. That's when they explained to me what I really was.

You would think that once I was at Hogwarts with all these other people who were just like me, who could do special things just like me, that I could feel at home. But alas, I did not. Even in a huge school filled with tons of other witches and wizards, I still feel alienated.

I am still the outcast among the rest.


	5. Chapter 5

**Friendly Faces**

**Chapter 5**

Monday night, I sat in my dormitory, bored to death. There wasn't really much to do, since I had already completed the assignments for all of my classes, so I sat in my bed, doodling on a piece of parchment. I hadn't really intended on drawing anything in particular, I just sort of let my hand lead the quill in whatever direction it wanted to.

"Wow, that's a good drawing."

I jumped a little, and looked up to see Lily Evans standing next to me, peering down at my parchment.

"Oh. Th-thank you."

"Do you draw often? You seem pretty talented."

"No. I just doodle sometimes."

"That's what you consider a doodle? I'd hate to see what you call artwork then," she said with a smile.

I returned the gesture, not sure what to say. It was silent for a couple of minutes. I felt awkward, not knowing what I could possibly talk to Lily Evans about.

After a couple more seconds of awkward silence, Lily said, "Well, I'll be off to bed now, nice talking to you Gabby."

"You too."

With that, I looked down at my parchment, at the abstract looking image of a woman in a field, and then I set it aside.

I was surprised that Lily had decided to talk to me, but I was grateful. She seemed like a really nice girl, and I would be happy to be a friend of hers.

I slipped under the covers and blew out the candle on my bed stand, falling asleep with a sense of optimism.

The next couple of days went by without much going on. Lily made small talk with me every now and then when she saw me in the dormitory. It wasn't much, but it was an improvement in my life.

Friday afternoon, I sat outside of the castle on a small boulder, reading a playwright by William Shakespeare called Twelfth Night. It was a bit chilly out, but it felt great to be outdoors none the less.

I was absorbed in the book when suddenly I was snapped out of my trance by the sound of heavy panting. Confused, I looked up from my book and saw that the dog from the other day was back yet again. I smiled widely and it wagged its tail.

"Hey boy, what are you doing here again? Don't you have a home somewhere?"

The dog sat now in front of me.

"I guess you like it here because the students will play with you," I sighed. "It must be fun to be a dog. Everyone thinks you're cute and they pay attention to you and love you unconditionally. Even when you make a mistake like drinking out of the toilet bowl, they can't stay mad at you for long."

He put his chin down on my knee. I lightly petted his head. He nudged my book with his nose.

"What is it boy? Would you like me to read to you?"

The dog wagged his tail.

I laughed, "Alright then."

I read Twelfth Night aloud to my furry companion, and he sat still in front of me the whole entire time. It wasn't until I noticed the sun setting that I closed my book.

"Well, that's all for now. I've got to get back to the castle."

I stood up, and so did the dog.

"Bye-bye, pup," I said, patting his head one last time.

He ran off to wherever it was he had come from, and I made my way up to the castle where I would sit in the Great Hall and eat dinner in silence.


End file.
